The Shadow
by Jakia
Summary: Oh No! What have I done? I've taken JKR's beautiful PoA and got a lawn mower, and look at this AU! (I think it's quite good) Extremely AU, involves a bad Sirius and torcher for Lupin. Please R/R.


 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1D/C: I don't own anything.

A/N: I am trapped in an Alternate Universe mode, and when re-reading PoA, this came to mind.  Don't mind it if it's bad, but I actually think it's very good.  Will probably be H/Hr. Please review! 

_Italics are memories. **Bold italics are thoughts.**_

The Shadow

Prologue

Jakia

(From Prisoner of Azkaban, pgs. 338-343, then goes off into my own.)

            "Nox," the whispered together, the lights at the end of their wands went out.  Only one door was open.  As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring.  They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

            Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open.

            On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them.  On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

            Harry and Hermione dashed across to him.

            "Ron–are you okay?"

            "Where's the dog?"

            "Not a dog," Ron moaned.  His teeth were gritted with pain.  "Harry, it's a trap."

            "What?"

            "**He's the dog...he's an Animagus..."**

            Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder.  Harry wheeled around.  With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.

            A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows.  If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse.  The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull.  His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.  It was Sirius Black.

            "Expelliarmus!" He croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.  

            Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them.

(A/N: Ok, I'm not going to write the whole five pages. You know what happens, nothing changes.  Yet...)

            "WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly.  "WE'RE UP HERE–SIRIUS BLACK–QUICK!"

            Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively–**Do it now!** Said a voice in his head–but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Harry still hadn't done it.

            The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready.  His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet. (A/N: Now it goes on to my own...) Black's smiled turned into one that was so crooked and evil it would have made Snape run for cover.

            "You came, Lupin.  I knew you would.  You're a fool, too.  Dying a hero's death, aye, Remus? You and James... You're pathetic." Before Harry knew what happened, another man, this one tall and blonde, was holding Professor Lupin down.    Harry's mouth dropped when he finally realized who it was. Ron seemed to know as well.

            "Peter Pettigrew?!"  He yelled.  The blonde man smiled, as did Black.  

            "Yes. That would be correct, Ron Weasley.  I am Peter Pettigrew, though you might be more comfortable calling me Scabbers." Harry, Hermione, and Ron's jaw dropped.  

            "Scabbers? How..." But no one seemed to acknowledge what Hermione had said. Sirius Black smiled at Peter, as if they had planned all of this.  Probably, they did.

            "Did they give you any trouble, Sirius?" Peter said, holding Professor Lupin tightly.  Sirius, using Ron's wand, put a spell on all of them, making invisible ropes tie around them tightly.

            "James Junior did." He said, rubbing Harry's head as if he was a dog.  If Harry had not been tied up, he would have done all he could to kill Black. "We may have to kill him, too.  The other two, well, we'll just take away their memory.  They weren't supposed to be here, but, ah, such is life." Peter shook his head in agreement.

            "What do you want with us?" Harry asked, his cold green eyes not leaving Black or Pettigrew for more than three seconds.

            "You're bait for the traitor, and it looks like our little wolf-man fell for it." Black said.  Harry thought about that. Wolf-man? Since when did Professor Lupin have any dealings with werewolves?

            "You can't hold that against Professor Lupin! He can't help that he's a werewolf!" Hermione shouted grimily.  Professor Lupin's a werewolf? Harry and Ron shared the same thought.  That explains a bugger.

            "I'd shut up if I were you, little girl.  You're in no position to talk." Professor Lupin, who had been gaged when he was tied up, sighed helplessly.

            "What did he ever do to you?  He's never done anything wrong..." Harry said defensibly.  Sirius Black sighed.

            "Your right, Harry.  He has done nothing wrong.  That's why he has to die.  He's the traitor we've been looking for." He turned to Professor Lupin lightly, taking his gag off as he did.  Black shook Professor Lupin hard. The poor man already looked quite sick.

            "Why did you not take the Dark Mark like the rest of us, werewolf? What were you doing, protecting your-so-called friends? You hated James, just like the rest of us! **Why did you protect him?!**" Sirius Black screamed, hitting Professor Lupin hard across the face.

            "You're a fool, Black." Professor Lupin got kicked hard in the you-know-where. "You actually expected Voldemort to just kill James off for us and leave? That might have been his plan in the beginning, but once he entered Godric's Hollow it changed completely.  He, like myself, could sense Harry's destiny.  The Dark Lord was not going to leave the child unharmed.  He was going to kill him.  Well, that backfired, didn't it? I would have thought that little stunt with Peter would have changed your mind." Sirius looked coldly at Peter, but it wasn't anything like the death stare he gave Lupin.   If looks could kill, Lupin would have been on the floor in a hundred different pieces. 

            "Well, things change.  But what I'm most concerned is you.  You didn't come, once Voldemort fell. You were supposed to be there, to take Lily and Harry out—"

            "Lily was already dead.  I did the best I could.  I got Harry out, and I gave him to Hagrid. Hagrid took Harry to Lily's family where he would be safe, safe from you, at least."  Sirius' nose scrunched.

            "I noticed.  I met Hagrid before he left.  I tried to get him to give Harry to me, I would have looked after him.  I would have taught him in the Dark Arts like all children should. He would of had a family, instead of that torn up, arrogant bastard that James was!" Sirius yelled.  Harry would have liked to of said something about that, but decided against it.  Peter sighed, and looked at Professor Lupin with great sorrow.

            "We we're doing it for Harry's safety.  James was insane." Peter said.  Professor Lupin shook his head, and if you looked close enough, you could see a few tears in each of the older men's eyes.

            "Insane, yes. Arrogant, I can agree on.  Yes, he was a bastard.  I can think of another hundred things you could call James Potter.  But that gave you no reason to give him to Voldemort!" Sirius and Peter looked at each other, and then turned to Lupin.  Magically, they undid the ropes that had tied Lupin and the kids up.  

            "You have five minutes to run.  Don't look back.  When I find you again, Lupin, I will kill you.  You'd better start running." Sirius said, and they did.  They ran very, very fast and far.  Except for Ron, who was dealing with his broken leg.  He did not make it out the door.  Black killed him. 

End Chapter

A/N: Wow! That took a lot out of me! Please don't kill me because I killed Ron! He's not as dead as he may seem.  Also, I hope you all realize this is an alternate reality, meaning I have taken J.K. Rowling's beautiful plot and a lawn mower, and this is the end result.  There are plot holes everywhere, I imagine. Please read and review.    


End file.
